Use YouTube to Market your Contractor Business

I’ve been getting increasingly interested in using YouTube for digital marketing. It is quite obvious that one can use YouTube to build an audience, get in front of potential clients, advertise, and even monetize a channel for a little extra cash.

On top of all that, it seems pretty clear that we are just beginning to see the platform’s potential for contractors and local businesses.

Check out these compelling YouTube statistics:

• YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine.
• YouTube is the second most trafficked website behind Google.
• over one billion hours of videos are watched on YouTube every day.
• On mobile devices alone, YouTube reaches more adults aged 18-49 during prime time than any cable network does in an average week.
• Over half of American internet users who are aged 75 and over watch videos on YouTube.
• The number of channels with more than 1 million subscribers increased by more than 75% since 2017.
• The number of YouTubers who earn six figures per year has increased by more than 40% since 2017.
• Video traffic is predestined to be a whopping 82% of all global IP traffic by 2022 — up from 75% percent in 2017.

None of these statistics are very surprising to me because they correlate with my own experience. I use YouTube almost before I use Google when conducting an internet search.

I have also found myself choosing to spend the evening watching YouTube videos from my favorite channels over the final season of Game of Thrones.

Now, that’s saying something.

YouTube has certainly become a key player in our digital lives.

The question is…

“Are you going to take advantage of the trend?”

In the months to come, we will post some tutorials and videos about using YouTube.

We’ll also document our journey starting and growing a channel.

Until then, let me give 3 keys to being successful on YouTube:

• 1- Consistency
• 2- Quality
• 3- Optimization

1- Consistency

The word on the street is that you should post regularly and consistently. If you want to post 1 or 2 videos a month, that’s fine, just be sure to schedule, shoot, and upload on a regular, consistent schedule.

Many YouTubers have conducted their own tests by starting a daily vlog. Most all of them have reported getting more subscribers because of the daily consistency.

Don’t think too much. Just do it!

If you want to start with a simple monthly routine, go for it. Just do it monthly until you’re ready to ramp it up.

2- Quality

By quality, I mean both production quality and content quality.

First, you want good content. Free and helpful content will impress folks and help you build an audience. Don’t just ramble. Plan your video, keep it moving, and give great content.

Second, you don’t want to deliver good content in a poorly shot video. Here are 3 huge tips for increasing your quality:

• 1- use an external mic,
• 2- use good lighting,
• 3-edit the video so its fun to watch.

You don’t need to spend a bunch of money. Your phone has a great camera built-in. But I would recommend spending some money on a mic and maybe even some LED lights to make your ugly mug more flattering.

Below: I have a budget, bare-bones YouTube kit that I’ve already put together for a few clients. It’s cheap and easy to use and therefore, can get you moving right away.

3- Optimization

Finally, there are ways to plan your videos around keywords that folks are actually interested in and searching for. Once you find the key topics, you can make videos around those topics and then optimize the video by adding SEO terms, tags, and a compelling thumbnail. We’ll talk more about optimization in a different blog/video soon.

Start ASAP! You know what they say…

“The best time to plant a tree… was 20 years ago!”

That being said, the sooner you start shooting videos for your company’s YouTube channel the better.